Bar Unikko brightens the main venue at Helsinki Design Week

The largest design and architecture festival in the Nordics, Helsinki Design Week, will be held for the 19th time in September. This year’s main event venue is Paasivuorenkatu 3 in Hakaniemi. On the first floor of the long-closed bank hall, a bar will be built in collaboration with Marimekko.

The conceptual Bar Unikko in Residence at Helsinki Design Week, which delighted visitors at Milan Design Week this spring and was created in collaboration with the international interior design publication Apartamento, will open to the public on Wednesday, 11 September, and will be open until Saturday, 14 September. The building at Paasivuorenkatu 3, constructed in 1981, will also serve as a stage for design and architecture-related discussions, various evening events, and installations inspired by the festival’s annual theme Underneath.

The historical spaces at Paasivuorenkatu will be furnished with Nordic interior elements, textiles, and furniture, making it the perfect meeting place. Alongside Marimekko, the festival’s Programme Partner includes Let Me Wine, known for its colourful wines.

Fashion designers, graphic artists, architects, designers – and PechaKucha Night

Each day, design will be discussed on the stage built next to Bar Unikko. Wednesday’s theme is fashion and new materiality. Present will be top Nordic designers: Maja Freiman, founder of the Swedish brand Main Nué, Icelandic designer Sól Hansdóttir, stylist Claudia Cifu and doctoral researcher, designer Noora Yau. The discussion will be moderated by designer Anna Semi. The keynote on Wednesday will be delivered by Ane Lynge-Jorlén, leader of the Danish organization ALPHA.

Thursday’s theme is architecture, and together with the new Museum of Architecture and Design, the stage will feature David van der Leer, Liza Chong, Linda Liukas, Johannes Suikkanen, Teemu Suviala, Ervin Latimer, and Kieran Long. The Thursday afternoon keynote address will be delivered by Paola Antonelli, chief curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The day will end with the popular House by an Architect event, where architects Timo Karasalo, Esa Laaksonen, Anu Puustinen, Miia-Liina Tommila, and Henrik Ilvesmäki will present the residential buildings they wish they had designed themselves.

On Friday, Marimekko’s Design Director, Home & Print Design, Minna Kemell-Kutvonen, Habitare’s Creative Lead Päivi Helander, and illustrator Ulla Donner will take the stage, along with HDW’s Programme Director Anni Korkman. The discussion will explore the mystery of the creative process. Friday will also feature the Helsinki Design Awards winners and other creative figures from Helsinki. The evening will end with the fast-paced, surprise-filled PechaKucha Night, featuring designer Antero Jokinen, architect-artist Liisa Ryynänen, visual artist Dora Dalila Cheffi, Creative Director Pietari Pyykönen, Noinseitsemän collective designers Emma Tahvanainen, Siiri Rajalin, Roosa-Emilia Ronkainen, and Samu Pitkänen, and graphic designer and podcaster Kasper Strömman.

On Saturday, the new Helsinki design and architecture map will be unveiled, followed by a design-themed pub quiz in collaboration with Marimekko, and concluding with the Helsinki Design Night party. This club night, launched in 2023, is organized in collaboration with 417 World.

A diverse programme spread across the city

In addition to Paasivuorenkatu 3, HDW will take place in dozens of locations across the city. The first floor of the Cable Factory will once again be filled with top-notch design on 7–8 September, as the hall hosts the Design Market. The venue will also feature the Collectors’ Market launched in 2023, focusing on vintage and collectible rarities.

On Friday afternoons, on 6 and 13 September, studio doors will be open as Open Studios brings the city’s neighbourhoods to life, inviting locals to explore the everyday world of creative professionals. In the Design Diplomacy events (11–13 September), ambassadors will welcome HDW guests into their homes as two previously unacquainted designers play a conversation card game in front of an audience. At Aalto University’s new Marsio building, the Designs for a Cooler Planet exhibition by students and researchers will take place (6–15 September), and interior design enthusiasts and professionals can head to Habitare Fair at Messukeskus Helsinki (11–15 September).

Additionally, the programme includes numerous Companion and Satellite events. You can find the full programme here.